Nap Time's Labors

Myself, I'm just okay about asparagus. However, I love eating from the garden, and I have a mom who will eat all the asparagus I can grow, so I ordered asparagus crowns. And here they were, in all their sandy, damp glory, just waiting to be planted.

Ah, tis the rub.

I am notorious for not planting starts, crowns, etc., in a timely fashion. Once, an entire box of strawberry plants went MOLDY because I didn't plant them.

But not today.

Today, the baby was sleeping by himself in the swing. (This kid puts himself to sleep while laying down, which no other of my children have ever done. Who knew how un-needed it would make me feel? But anyway, back to business!)

Planting. Here. Now. In the sun and the breeze. The day the box arrived.

So I found my rain boots (remember yesterday?), gloves, a shovel, and the box. Soon I added a rake, bucket, and wheelbarrow to my tool pile. There is an existing asparagus patch (*the upper left of the photo), but the rest of the "patch" was full of lilies or irises. I love a good iris, but there were more than enough that I could sacrifice a few for the sake of edibles. Besides, my mom was willing to take the bulbs. Hence, the bucket.

There was plenty of dead grass to rake aside, so the wheelbarrow was duly loaded. I'm not particularly adept at the shovel (I'll blame it on having a baby less than three months ago), so it was slow going. I think I reached the appropriate depth, and I'm that much farther along in cleaning out this bed. I have a 4-gal. bucket of irises for my mom.

The garlic was unburied in my raking enthusiasm, so here it is.

And, as a crowning glory for my efforts, I discovered these beautiful blooms on the peach tree. Now for a few glasses of water and a hungry baby.

Until next time, remember, this is not paradise. It's Purgatory Ranch.